Organizers are gearing up for a daylong workshop called Landscape Design with Missouri in Mind.

The event — which is open to land owners, landscaping professionals and park professionals — will be held on Saturday, March 16, at the Lampo Building, 500 E. Spring St., Neosho. Doors open at 8:30 a.m., the event begins at 9 a.m. and concludes at 4:30 p.m.

Cost per workshop is $35 for members of the Missouri Prairie Foundation/ Grow Native!, and $40 for nonmembers. Fee includes lunch and a copy of Native Landscaping for Wildlife and People by Dave Tylka. RSVP by March 11 by calling (573) 356-7828 or grownative.org

Carol Davit, executive director of Missouri Prairie Foundation, said the purpose of the program is to provide information on the benefits of landscaping with native plants.

“How to select appropriate native trees for your landscaping project, how to manage rainwater, the importance of pollinators,” Davit said.

There will be various speakers throughout the day. And one of the speakers is Jon Skinner, urban forester with the Missouri Department of Conservation – Joplin.

His topic is “Beyond Dogwoods and Redbuds: Landscaping with Native Trees.” Those attending can learn about the variety of native canopy and understory trees species native to Missouri, many of which are desirable for landscaping, for both people and wildlife.

There are advantages of using native plants, Davit said.

“Plants that are native to Missouri are adapted to our climatic and soil conditions,” she said. “So they are going to do well. Many need very little water. So many other species depend on native plants as opposed to things like drangums and things that you buy at the store don’t provide nectar sources or other seeds that insects and butterflies and birds need. But native plants do.”

This workshop was to be held a couple of weeks ago in Diamond, but was canceled due to inclement weather. Davit said that past workshops have had a good turnout.

“The turnout has been great throughout the history of the program,” she said. “People of all ages and all walks of life are interested in landscaping with natives.”